Post #9: The Power of Black Experience in the Classroom TED Talk

The Power of the Black Experience in the Classroom TED Talk

Link to TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4ZSd7H1aV4

This week, I watched a TED talk called The Power of the Black Experience in the Classroom, given by a man named Keith Mayes in August of 2016. Keith was a professor in African American and African Studies at the University of Minnesota. He identified his race as African American.

Link to Picture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4ZSd7H1aV4

Keith started the TED talk by discussing his high school experience in Bronx, New York. He was a poor student in high school, partially because he could not personally identify with the information he had learned in classes and he had a difficult time relating to his teachers. Keith said that most of the information he had learned in school was related to white people, and he felt that there was little acknowledgement of African Americans in his classes. Most of Keith’s high school teachers were white, which created misunderstandings between himself and his teachers, due to issues that primarily African Americans have to face.

In my education classes, we have discussed the importance of teaching information to students that are represented in our classroom. Research has proven, and Mayes pointed out, that students learn more in school when they see or hear about people that are similar to themselves, especially racially and ethnically. If a student learns information about individuals that they have a challenging time relating to, then they are questioning why they are learning this information. It increases the chances of individuals being bored in their classes, and students are less likely to retain information. After this TED talk, I understood why it is important to teach information that is related to all races and ethnicities.

Application of The Power of the Black Experience in the Classroom:

Photo Link: https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2016/09/14/picture-this-reflecting-diversity-in-childrens-book-publishing/

·      Having books in classrooms with nonwhite characters: Providing a variety of books in the classroom, especially present-day stories. Many elementary school classrooms have books with nonwhite characters that are related to historical events, not necessarily giving general information on individuals in that racial group today. If students, whose race is different than the majority of the characters, are only exposed to historical fiction or nonfiction books on them, they may not realize that they are surrounded by individuals who related well with the characters. 

·      Importance of Nonwhite Guest Speakers come into the classroom: Guest speakers are an effective way for children to be exposed to different types of individuals. This can give all students perspective on how life in the United states is for black people. This provides a level of reliability that may not be given between a white teacher and a student who is nonwhite.